Rev 2:3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.
The remarkable testimony of these words should encourage every believer to continue through every trial or burden. This verse does not carry the meaning of how they endured the false apostles or teachers. This verse refers to the burdens or trials the church was under. The practical application of this verse to us has to do with the proper perspective we should have in carrying burdens. The term borne at its root meaning in this verse is to walk and keep pace or to sustain.
To continue walking through the most significant difficulties without slowing, altering course, or stopping is the proper behavior of the believer when facing adversity of any kind. This is the appropriate and expected behavior. The following phrase gives us the right attitude to match the behavior. We are to have a patient attitude. That is great endurance and consistency. Often, we find ourselves in a battle of some kind, tempted to give up the journey. We seem to face times when we have more questions than we have answers. I’ve learned through the years that it is often not the fact of the trouble but sometimes the length of the problem we face that weakens our will to continue walking on with great confidence. The Psalmist said in Psalms 13, How long Oh Lord will you hide your face from me. It wasn’t necessarily the trouble, but how long the problem would last was the question in his heart.
To apply that to this verse, it is our patience to endure the hardship that is often tested rather than the fact of going through adversity. We’ve heard that God is never too early, never too late, but always right on time. I’m sure we can all relate to the fact that God’s timing is rarely ours. But to the church in Ephesus, He says, "You have kept walking with endurance and consistency." Battle-tested saints are the best to walk with. These can give testimony to the incredible power of God in their lives, even when it didn’t appear that God was anywhere around them. The question remains: where do we find the strength to stay consistent and endure the battles we face with patience?
It is for His name’s sake that they continued in Ephesus. This is the testimony we should be looking for. There is a name that gives us the reason and the cause to continue steadfastly, with endurance, to walk in pace with the journey our Lord has put us on. Remembering who we walk for. Remembering who it is that walks with us. It is in the name of Jesus that we continue to walk. Everything we are and everything we do is not for us or by us. It is all for the glory of our Lord.
I wonder how it might change the perspective of most believers today to fully understand that everything that happens in our lives, in terms of our response, reflects on the name of Jesus Christ. How would our responses to life’s difficulties change if we kept before us the fact that it is all for and by the name of Jesus that we even move or have our being? The church of Ephesus in the apostolic age faced much persecution over the name of Jesus. We have a record in the Word of God in the Acts of the Apostles of some of the persecution they faced. Peter was imprisoned, beaten, and later crucified upside down for his preaching. Paul the Apostle, who spent at least two years at Ephesus, was persecuted many times and was later beheaded for his preaching. How did they endure? Because the name of Jesus gave them purpose, passion, and persistence to continue without fear until their mission was complete. This is what we need to motivate us.
It is outside the ability of personal will to accomplish any spiritual task. Willpower alone cannot sustain proper behavior in a consistent, continuous manner. It is with this attitude that they labored and did not faint. This means working hard in the kingdom without growing tired or weary. Again, the only way this can happen is to recognize the purpose behind what we do. It is all for the glory of God, and in His presence, we can accomplish the mission we have been called to. It is then that we can say with Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Enduring all that life brings us is not just possible; we can do so with victory and joy by trusting the Lord.
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